RuntimeAds

Get paid while your AI agents think. RuntimeAds shows a single, privacy-safe sponsor ad while Claude Code or Codex is busy waiting — in the panel spinner, the terminal, or the status bar — and credits your developer account. No ads in your prompts, your code, or your responses.

Works in VS Code and Cursor, with Claude Code and Codex.

What you get

Earn during dead time — ads appear only while an agent is waiting, never in your prompts or its answers.
One tasteful sponsor — a single line, not a cluttered panel. Hide it anytime.
Privacy-first — RuntimeAds never reads or collects prompts, responses, code, terminal output, file paths, or repository names. See Privacy.
No lock-in — uninstall leaves nothing behind. Most tools that reach into your editor dig in and stay; RuntimeAds is built to do the opposite. Every change is backed up and put back on removal, and nothing lingers after you restart (see Removing RuntimeAds).

Quick start

Install RuntimeAds from the Marketplace / Open VSX (or a .vsix). Setup runs automatically — RuntimeAds connects to Claude Code & Codex on first launch, no action needed.
Sign in — Command Palette → RuntimeAds: Sign In, then complete Google sign-in in your browser. (Ads only ever serve while you're signed in — that's how earnings are credited.)
Trust Codex hooks (if prompted) — in Codex, run /hooks and trust the RuntimeAds hooks so wait time can be counted. (Shortcut: RuntimeAds: Trust Codex Hooks.)
Work normally — when an agent is waiting, you may see a sponsor ad, and your account earns.

Setup is automatic, but you can re-run it anytime with RuntimeAds: Set Up Claude & Codex (e.g. if you install Claude Code / Codex later).

Open RuntimeAds: Open Dashboard anytime to check your connection and activity. View earnings and payouts on the RuntimeAds developer portal (same account).

How it works — what RuntimeAds changes

RuntimeAds is transparent about every file it touches. To show an ad in your agents' native UI, it makes small, reversible changes (each original is backed up alongside it):

Surface	What RuntimeAds does	Where
Claude Code / Codex panel	Injects a small ad-overlay block into the editor's webview bundle	the Claude Code / Codex extension files (a `.runtimeads-backup` is kept)
Claude / Codex CLI	Adds a spinner verb + status-line command so the CLI can show an ad	`~/.claude/settings.json` (global)
Codex CLI launcher	Wraps the global `codex` command so it can print a one-line sponsor at start	your npm `codex` shim (original recorded for restore)
Wait-time hooks	Adds hooks so RuntimeAds knows when an agent is waiting (installed once, globally)	your global Claude & Codex config (`~/.claude`, `~/.codex`)

All of this is undone by the removal commands below — RuntimeAds only ever removes its own entries and restores your original files; it never deletes config you wrote.

Commands

Command	What it does
`RuntimeAds: Sign In`	Connect your RuntimeAds account
`RuntimeAds: Sign Out`	Disconnect this editor
`RuntimeAds: Open Dashboard`	Account status and activity inside the editor
`RuntimeAds: Set Up Claude & Codex`	Connect Claude & Codex for ads + wait-time detection (runs automatically on install)
`RuntimeAds: Trust Codex Hooks`	Open Codex and trust RuntimeAds hooks
`RuntimeAds: Dismiss Sponsor Ad`	Hide the current sponsor until agents finish waiting
`RuntimeAds: Restore Sponsor Ads`	Show sponsors again
`RuntimeAds: Open Active Ad`	Open the current sponsor in your browser
`RuntimeAds: Help & Status`	Connection details and troubleshooting
`RuntimeAds: Menu`	Quick actions from the status bar
`RuntimeAds: Reset Claude & Codex Panels`	Undo the panel/CLI patches, stay installed and signed in
`RuntimeAds: Remove RuntimeAds & Sign Out`	Undo all patches + hooks, sign out, and clear local data

Settings

Setting	Description
`runtimeads.render.statusBarAds`	Show sponsor ads in the status bar while an agent is waiting (on by default).
`runtimeads.render.spinnerHoldMs`	How long sponsor text stays visible in the terminal spinner (milliseconds).
`runtimeads.apiBaseUrl`	RuntimeAds API URL. Leave the default unless you self-host.

Removing RuntimeAds

No lock-in. Remove RuntimeAds and everything it touched is put back exactly as it was: your Claude/Codex panels restored from backup, the global CLI changes undone, the wait-time hooks removed from your global Claude & Codex config, and its one folder (~/.runtimeads) deleted. No ad code, no tracking, and no changes to your other extensions survive removal, and your login never lived anywhere but your editor's secure storage. Because the client is source-available, you can confirm this yourself instead of taking our word for it.

Pick the level that matches what you want — from "hide it for now" to "remove it completely."

Just hide the ad — RuntimeAds: Dismiss Sponsor Ad (bring it back with Restore Sponsor Ads).
Reset the panels, keep earning later — RuntimeAds: Reset Claude & Codex Panels. Undoes the panel/CLI patches but leaves the extension installed and signed in; it re-applies next time an ad shows.
Remove RuntimeAds & sign out — RuntimeAds: Remove RuntimeAds & Sign Out. Restores Claude/Codex, removes the global wait-time hooks, signs you out, and clears local data. (Setup won't auto-run again until you re-run Set Up Claude & Codex.)
Uninstall completely — uninstall RuntimeAds from the Extensions panel, then restart the editor. On restart, RuntimeAds automatically restores the Claude/Codex panels (every install), undoes the global CLI changes, strips its wait-time hooks from your global config, and removes ~/.runtimeads.

⚠️ Restart the editor after uninstalling. VS Code and Cursor defer an extension's removal (and its cleanup) until the next time you launch the app — closing windows is not enough. Until you restart, you may still see the sponsor ad. After a restart, it's gone.

Tip: if you want a guaranteed-clean slate (e.g. before reinstalling), run RuntimeAds: Remove RuntimeAds & Sign Out first, then uninstall and restart.

Privacy

RuntimeAds does not read or collect:

prompts or AI responses
terminal output
source code or file contents
file paths, repository names, or branch names
environment variables or clipboard contents

It sends only wait-time signals and ad display events needed to credit your account. Full details: privacy policy.

Troubleshooting

Not signed in? Run RuntimeAds: Sign In and complete browser auth.

No ads appearing? Run RuntimeAds: Set Up Claude & Codex, reload the Claude/Codex panels, and restart terminal Claude if you use the CLI.

Codex not counting wait time? Open Codex, run /hooks, and trust all RuntimeAds hooks — or use RuntimeAds: Trust Codex Hooks.

"Sponsor ads unavailable" warning? Open RuntimeAds: Help & Status. Common fix: install or update the Claude Code / Codex extensions, then reload the window.

Still seeing ads after uninstalling? The editor hasn't finished removing the extension yet — fully quit and reopen VS Code / Cursor (closing windows isn't enough). The cleanup runs on the next launch. If anything lingers after that, run RuntimeAds: Remove RuntimeAds & Sign Out before the final uninstall.

For support, include your Device ID (shown in the dashboard) when contacting RuntimeAds.